Wedding Please help!

[Izzy03]

I have been engaged for a whole two days and I am already stressing out over wedding planning!

My problem is that I don''t know how to find a wedding (reception) venue! I am google-ing all sorts of stuff but I feel like the information I am getting is so limited. Biggest problem is the I would like to have the wedding in St. Augustine, FL which is about 2 hours away from where I live. I work Mon-Fri, so when is there time? Maybe I should just deal with my mom''s unhappiness and have the tiny destination wedding I was hoping for.

Do you guys have tips for the best ways to find great wedding venues? Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Italiahaircolor]

Buy a regional wedding magazine. Here in Chicago (where I live) there are several...so I assume they have Florida Bride mags as well. It will give you lists upon lists upon lists of great vendors in the area you''re looking: florists, venues, bakeries, invitations. Most even have small keys to let you know what to expect!!

Good luck!

 

[Izzy03]

Italia :Thank you so much for your quick response! Now I can go to bed. Seriously I do get out of the house, so how did I not know about regional wedding magazines?

 

[blondebunny]

google casa monica hotel st augustine, its a gorgeous place. Im sure most vendors would meet with you on a sat or sun, I dont see why they wouldnt... I mean ur bringing them business afterall... Do you plan on getting a wedding coordinator?? If so, maybe you could meet with them and tell them what you want, and usually they should take care of most things for you, and tell her/him you are in Orlando and you''d like her to email you pics of everything and maybe she could arrange one day for you to come up and get a lot of stuff done ya know. I definitely think its feasible though.

 

[doodle]

i found eventective.com to be really helpful. it generates a list of event venues for you based on up to 40 miles from a selected location (or you can just search by state). it also gives you basic information on the venue, such as maximum occupancy, contact information, etc. instead of using their service to contact the vendor, i''d just find a place i liked, then google the venue and go to their site on my own rather than having eventective contact them for me (this probably sounds confusing on here, but you''d get what i mean if you were looking at their site!). what i liked about it is it pops up lists of venues for any kind of event, so if you''re looking for something less traditional, it''ll also give you useful results, like historic homes for rent, museums, etc. good luck with finding a venue--oh, and i just got back from key west yesterday, so i can tell you that florida, particularly the st. augustine area, has a lot of potential wedding venues that are really pretty, so don''t stress!

 

[Gypsy]

Hi Izzy... don''t stress too much, we''ll help you find the information you need. The knot has a tab right on the front page that says "Local Resources" if you click on it and follow it to where it leads you, it may help! If not, the knot boards (under "community") have local boards (many of the boards are mean and snarky, but the local boards can be nice) and you can post asking for venue recommendations and sometimes the ladies on there can be very helpful (sometimes not, unfortunately) Best of luck!

 

[Morgie44]

I would also look on the knot''s Local Resources. Through them I found these potential places

http://www.sansebastianwinery.com/reception.html

http://www.ocwhiteroom.com/index.html

www.oldesthouse.org

http://www.theribaultclub.com/weddings.html

Before you delve into the venue search too far, I would first get an idea of your budget and guest list. For me, that was the fastest way to eliminate potential places, and most importantly, Congrats! Try to relax and enjoy your engagement!

 

[Izzy03]

Thanks for all your help ladies! I am just really not enjoying this wedding planning so far! I am having SO stop by a bridal salon for me to grab a local bridal catalog to bring me this weekend.

I''m sure I will have many more freak outs and its great to know you all are always there to help!

 

[iwannaprettyone]

Breathe....early days for you yet. Take some time to daydream and flip thru some mags so you can get an idea on what you want, then start a venue search.

Good luck.

 

[ljsmith001]

Just think about your city. When I was deciding on a venue.. well it was probably a little different for me because I knew we would have our wedding and reception at the same venue. But I started going over my favorite places in the city in my head. I thought about museums, art galleries, hotels, parks, a glass blowing facility, etc. I went to look at about 5 places and ended up with a huge art center. It is going to be perfect for us as we are both a bit artsy and my fiance is a ceramic artist. Just think about your personality and where your ideal wedding would take place at! Good luck, you have plenty of time sweetie!